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Billericay
Billericay High Street.jpg
Billericay High Street and St Mary Magdalen Church
Billericay is located in Essex
Billericay
Billericay
Population 34,274 (2011)
OS grid reference TQ675945
Civil parish
  • Billericay
District
  • Basildon
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town BILLERICAY
Postcode district CM11, CM12
Dialling code 01277
Police Essex
Fire Essex
Ambulance East of England
EU Parliament East of England
UK Parliament
  • Basildon and Billericay
List of places
UK
England
Essex
51°37′41″N 0°25′06″E / 51.628°N 0.4184°E / 51.628; 0.4184

Billericay ( BIL-ə-RIK-ee) is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Basildon, Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin and constitutes a commuter town 25 miles (40 kilometres) east of Central London. The town has two secondary schools and a variety of open spaces. It is thought to have been occupied since the Bronze Age.

History

Some of the earliest records of human occupation of Billericay are the burial mounds in Norsey Wood: evidence of occupation in the Bronze and Iron Ages. Evidence of Roman occupation has been found at a number of locations in the town and there may have been a small cavalry fort at Blunts Wall.

The Saxons did not settle in the centre of Billericay. They established themselves two miles south, at Great Burstead. In the late 10th century it was known as 'Burhstede'. Billericay was not mentioned in the Domesday Book, as it lay within Great Burstead. At this time the parish church for Billericay was at Great Burstead.

Origin of the name

Billericay (previously Billerica) is a well-known exception in the identification of the origins of English place-names. The name of the town was first recorded as "Byllyrica" in 1291. The urban settlement, which was within the manor and parish of Great Burstead, was one of many founded in the late 13th century in an already densely populated rural landscape. Several suggestions for the origin of the place name include:

  • Villa Erica (Heather Villa), suggesting a Romano-British origin.
  • bellerīca, a medieval Latin word meaning 'dyehouse or tanhouse'.
  • billers, a traditional name for watercress, for which Bilbrook in Somerset and Staffordshire are named. Watercress was farmed in Billericay springs during the 20th century.

Although the a precise etymology of the name is not known, England has other places named Billericas, they are:

  • Billerica, Kent. A deserted town adjacent to the settlement of Court-up-Street by Port Lympne. Significantly this is adjacent to a Roman "Saxon Shore" fort as well as being on spring lines suitable for growing watercress.
  • Billerica Farm, near Upton Noble, Somerset. Although this farm might be named after the other Billericas, the site is also close to springs suitable for farming watercress.

The Tudor antiquarian John Leland believed the already-abandoned Billerica in Kent was a variant of Bellocastrum, ‘fair castle’ in Latin. In Billericay there is a Roman fort at Blunt’s Wall Farm; likewise ‘Burh’ gives is name to Great Burstead. This suggests that a Romano-British place name was reused by the Anglo-Saxons following the end of Roman rule in Britain.

Middle Ages

Norsey Woods, Billericay - geograph.org.uk - 48295
Norsey woods

In the 13th and 14th centuries some pilgrims to Canterbury journeyed via Billericay. Some of them may have spent the night in Billericay before crossing the River Thames at Tilbury. This may account for the large number of inns in the town.

Billericay's most notable historical episode was the Battle of Billericay during the Peasants' Revolt of 1381.

The Wycliffe preachers influenced the town. Four local people (Thomas Watts, Joan Hornes, Elizabeth Thackwell, and Margaret Ellis) were burnt at the stake. Two other residents (Joan Potter and James Harris) were tortured for their faith during the reign of Queen Mary.

Pilgrim Fathers

A meeting of the Pilgrim Fathers prior to their sailing in the Mayflower is said to have taken place in Billericay, and many local names and much historical imagery reflect this: Mayflower House, Morris Men, Taxis, School, Hall. Sunnymede School's houses were called Mayflower, Pilgrim, Chantry and Martin (after Christopher Martin, a Billericay merchant who travelled on the Mayflower as Ship's Governor).

Four people from Billericay were on board, including Christopher Martin. He and his wife Marie, along with Solomon Prowe and John Langemore, perished shortly after their arrival at Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

The unfortunate fate of the would-be pioneers did not deter other inhabitants of Billericay from setting sail for the New World. The town of Billerica, Massachusetts was established in 1655 by colonists from Billericay and named after their home town in England.

Georgian and Victorian eras

In the Georgian period many excellent examples of the period's houses were built in Billericay. One of those remaining today is Burghstead Lodge in High Street, which used to house the library. The road from Billericay to Tilbury still had a reputation for "footpads" and highwaymen operating along the road, where it passed through open country.

In the town, the Union Workhouse was built in 1840 to continue to implement the Poor Law. Parts of this building were later incorporated into what was St. Andrew's Hospital. The railway arrived in Billericay in 1889, being on the Great Eastern Main Line between London and Southend-on-Sea.

The 20th century

In 1916, during the First World War, one of the giant German Zeppelin airships was shot down during an aerial battle over Billericay. During its fiery demise, it narrowly missed the High Street, crashing into a field off of Greens Farm Lane. A plaque was erected at the site in 2016, to commemorate 100 years since the crash. Parts of the aluminium frame can be seen at the Cater Museum in Billericay High Street Recent research has indicated that this may be identified with the 'ghost Zeppelin' of Tonbridge which was allegedly seen floating over that town earlier in the day.

St. Andrew's Hospital, which was formerly the site of the town's Victorian workhouse, continued to function as an important communal building. From 1973, it housed the internationally renowned Regional Plastic Surgery and Burns unit until this was relocated to Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford in April 1998. After the relocation, most of the hospital was redeveloped into housing. The listed buildings remain intact but are now residential.

Geography

Lake Meadows, Billericay - geograph.org.uk - 48246
The Boating Lake at Lake Meadows

Billericay is within the London Basin and lies on a mixture of London clay, Claygate Beds and Bagshot Beds. Near the High Street, there is a change in soil type from sandy to clay, which gives rise to local underground springs. Open spaces include Norsey Wood, Mill Meadows Nature Reserve, Queen's Park Country Park, Sun Corner, Lake Meadows, Hanningfield Reservoir and South Green. Billericay contains Billericay School, Mayflower High School and St John's School.

Transport

Billericay is a part of the London commuter belt.

It is served by Billericay railway station on the Abellio Greater Anglia route between London's Liverpool Street station and Southend Victoria.

The station connects to local bus routes, including First Essex's route 100 which operates between Lakeside shopping centre, Basildon and Chelmsford.

Billericay is close to two primary routes: the A12 to the north and the A127 in the south. The A176 provides a road link to Basildon to the south of Billericay, as well as to the A127. The only secondary road in the town, the B1007, passes from just south of the town centre as Laindon Road, then meets the A129 at Sun Corner, continues northwards as Billericay's High Street and then Stock Road. It continues north to the county town of Chelmsford. Along its route is the village of Stock and an interchange to the A12. The town is a destination on the A129, linking it to the neighbouring towns of Brentwood and Wickford.

Culture

Billericay is served by a community radio station, Phoenix FM, which is based in Brentwood.

The town was immortalised in the Ian Dury and the Blockheads song "Billericay Dickie". Billericay is mentioned in George Orwell's novel Down and Out in Paris and London. Billericay is the setting of the BBC sitcom Gavin & Stacey as the home of Gavin Shipman (Mathew Horne) and his parents; however, the actual filming took place in Wales.

The Cater Museum is a privately owned local history museum housed in an 18th & 19th century building in the High Street. The Billericay Community Archive strives to record photos, memories and history relating to the town and surrounding areas on their website.

The Mayflower Morris Men are members of the Morris Ring of England and continue to dance the Morris in the town and perform their traditional Mummers' play, St. George and the Dragon, in the High Street every year on the nearest Saturday to St. George's Day.

Twinning

Billericay is twinned with:

  • France Chauvigny, France, since 2005

Sport

Billericay Cricket Club - geograph.org.uk - 49506
Billericay Cricket Club
Billericay Town F.C. Main Stand
The clubhouse, main stand and The Cowshed at New Lodge, 2007
  • Billericay Town Football Club
  • Billericay Rugby Football Club
  • Essex Spartans
  • Mayflower Archers
  • Billericay Striders Running Club

Notable people

  • Suzanne Maddock, Actor, lives in Billericay
  • Neal Asher, science fiction writer, born in Billericay
  • Francis Thomas Bacon, engineer, born in Billericay
  • Lee Barnard, footballer, went to school in Billericay
  • Peter Bone, politician, born in Billericay
  • Nick Cater, author and journalist in Australia, born in Billericay
  • Daniel Corbett, TV weather forecaster, lived in Billericay as a child
  • Robert Denmark, middle and long distance athlete
  • Justin Edinburgh, footballer, lived in Billericay, played for and managed Billericay Town F.C.
  • Lee Evans, comedian, went to school and lives in Billericay
  • Mark Foster, swimmer, born in Billericay
  • David Gandy, model, born and went to school in Billericay
  • Teresa Gorman, politician, former Member of Parliament
  • Lee Harrison, footballer, born in Billericay
  • Chris Haywood, actor/producer, born in Billericay
  • David Hopwood, banker, born in Billericay
  • Ralph Izzard, journalist, born in Billericay
  • Perry McCarthy, racing driver
  • Christopher Martin, Mayflower pilgrim, lived in Billericay
  • Alison Moyet, pop singer, born in Billericay
  • Richard Osman, TV personality ("Pointless Friend" on BBC show Pointless), born in Billericay
  • Kevin Painter, darts player, born in Billericay
  • Paul Parker, was raised in Billericay and lived there when he became a professional footballer
  • Gemma Ray, musician, singer, composer and producer, was raised in Billericay
  • Stewart Robson, footballer, born in Billericay
  • Russell Tovey, actor, has Billericay as his hometown
  • Charlie Richardson, gangster, lived in Billericay
  • Patrick W. Welch, painter, born in Billericay
  • Charlie Wernham, comedian and comedy actor, born and lives in Billericay
  • Ben Wheatley, film director, born in Billericay

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Billericay para niños

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